World Festival of Youth and Students

The 10th World Festival of Youth and Students in 1972

The World Festival of Youth and Students is an international event, organized by the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY), a United Nations-recognized international youth non-governmental organization, jointly with the International Union of Students since 1947.

The festival has been held regularly since 1947 as an event of global youth solidarity for democracy and against war and imperialism. The largest festival was the 6th, held in 1957 in Moscow, when 34,000 young people from 131 countries attended the event. This festival also marked the international debut of the song "Moscow Nights", which subsequently went on to become perhaps the most widely recognized Russian song in the world. Until the 19th festival in Sochi, Russia in 2017 (with 185 countries participating),[1] the largest festival by number of countries with participants was the 13th, held in 1989 in Pyongyang when 177 countries attended the event.[2]

The World Federation of Democratic Youth was founded to bring together young people of both the socialist and capitalist countries to promote peaceful cooperation and mutual rejection of war. However, with the onset of the Cold War soon after, the organization and the festivals became a matter of contention within the rivalry. Because of the enormous expenditure and coordination required to support a youth festival, most of the early festivals were held in cities in the socialist countries of Europe. However, many festivals, both then and more so since, have been held in non-socialist countries, affirming the commitment to peaceful coexistence between the peoples living under the different systems.

The most recent festival took place in Sochi, Russia, from 13 to 22 October 2017.

Chronology

Edition Year Logo Country Host City Participants Number of Represented Countries Motto
1st1947 CzechoslovakiaPrague17,00071"Youth Unite, Forward for Lasting Peace!"
2nd1949 HungaryBudapest20,00082"Youth Unite, Forward for Lasting Peace, Democracy, National Independence and a better future for the people"
3rd1951 East GermanyEast Berlin26,000104"For Peace and Friendship – Against Nuclear Weapons"
4th1953 RomaniaBucharest30,000111"No! Our generation will not serve death and destruction!."
5th1955 PolandWarsaw30,000114"For Peace and Friendship – Against the Aggressive Imperialist Pacts"
6th1957 Soviet UnionMoscow34,000131"For Peace and Friendship"
7th1959 AustriaVienna18,000112"For Peace and Friendship and Peaceful Coexistence"
8th1962 FinlandHelsinki18,000137"For Peace and Friendship"
9th1968 BulgariaSofia20,000138"For Solidarity, Peace and Friendship"
10th1973 East GermanyEast Berlin25,600140"For Anti-Imperialist Solidarity, Peace and Friendship"
11th1978 CubaHavana18,500145"For Anti-Imperialist Solidarity, Peace and Friendship"
12th1985 Soviet UnionMoscow26,000157"For Anti-Imperialist Solidarity, Peace and Friendship"
13th1989 North KoreaPyongyang22,000177"For Anti-Imperialist Solidarity, Peace and Friendship"
14th1997 CubaHavana12,325136"For Anti-Imperialist Solidarity, Peace and Friendship"
15th2001 AlgeriaAlgiers6,500110"Let’s Globalize the Struggle For Peace, Solidarity, Development, Against Imperialism"
16th2005 VenezuelaCaracas17,000144"For Peace and Solidarity, We Struggle Against Imperialism and War"
17th2010 South AfricaPretoria15,000126"Let's Defeat Imperialism, for a World of Peace, Solidarity and Social Transformation!"
18th2013 EcuadorQuito8,50080[3]"Youth Unite Against Imperialism, for a World of Peace, Solidarity and Social Transformation!"
19th2017 RussiaSochi30,000185[4]"For peace, solidarity and social justice, we struggle against imperialism. Honoring our past, we build the future!"

References

  1. ↑ "#WFYS2017". russia2017.com.
  2. ↑ "North Korea's Would-Be Olympics: A Tale of a Cold War Boondoggle". nytimes.com.
  3. ↑ "El festival busca que los jóvenes tengan presencia". telegrafo.com.ec.
  4. ↑ "#WFYS2017". russia2017.com.
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